Birds of Lees
What has actually been seen around Lees: 107 species, the most recorded garden birds, the busiest months, and what to put out for them.
- Species on record
- 107 within 5 km
- Observation records
- 23,863 since 2010
- Most recorded bird
- Great Tit
- Busiest month
- March
- Elevation
- 185 m
- Daylight, June / December
- 17 h / 7.5 h
What the records say about Lees
107 bird species have been recorded within 5 km of the centre of Lees (Oldham) since 2010, across 23,863 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Great Tit, Blue Tit and Goldfinch.
Lees is a garden-bird place: 94% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and garden trees. Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Rock Pigeon make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.
9 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Common Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Common Kestrel. A hawk that hunts feeder birds is among them, so set feeders 2–3 metres from shrubs: close enough for cover, far enough that a cat can't ambush from it.
Records peak in March and are lowest in August — about 1.9 times as many in the busiest month. Part of that is birds (migrants and winter visitors), part is people: more birders are out in good weather, so treat the curve as activity, not a census.
Oldham, 3 km to the west, has a similar number of species on record (110 against 107).
Daylight runs from 17 h 3 min at midsummer to 7 h 28 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:10 in mid-April and 4:38 in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.
Most recorded birds near Lees
| # | Bird | Records |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great TitParus major | 1,920 |
| 2 | Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus | 1,873 |
| 3 | GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis | 1,793 |
| 4 | Rock PigeonColumba livia | 1,466 |
| 5 | Coal TitPeriparus ater | 1,439 |
| 6 | ChaffinchFringilla coelebs | 1,383 |
| 7 | RobinErithacus rubecula | 1,365 |
| 8 | WoodpigeonColumba palumbus | 1,031 |
| 9 | DunnockPrunella modularis | 1,015 |
| 10 | NuthatchSitta europaea | 932 |
| 11 | GreenfinchChloris chloris | 906 |
| 12 | StarlingSturnus vulgaris | 905 |
| 13 | JackdawColoeus monedula | 851 |
| 14 | BlackbirdTurdus merula | 828 |
| 15 | MagpiePica pica | 739 |
| 16 | House SparrowPasser domesticus | 695 |
| 17 | Long-tailed TitAegithalos caudatus | 474 |
| 18 | Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto | 433 |
| 19 | Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major | 421 |
| 20 | Carrion CrowCorvus corone | 335 |
Records by month
What to put out in Lees
Foods for the most recorded garden birds here, from our species notes.
Seasonal bird notes for Oldham
What's arriving, what to feed and when to clean feeders, written for UK gardens. One email a month at most.
Nearby places
Frequently asked
What birds visit gardens in Lees?
The most recorded garden birds within 5 km of Lees are Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Rock Pigeon and Coal Tit, based on 23,863 public records since 2010.
How many bird species have been seen near Lees?
107 species have at least one record within 5 km of the town centre since 2010 (GBIF).
When is the best month for birds in Lees?
Observation records peak in March and are lowest in August. Sunrise in late June is around 4:38.
Sources
- GBIF occurrence search (birds, class Aves, 2010 onward)
- GeoNames gazetteer (place, population, elevation)
Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.